About Antonio Berni

Antonio Berni, who apprenticed with a stained-glass manufacturer as a child, began his artistic career as a Surrealist, producing paintings and collages. In the 1930s, Berni’s practice shifted towards critical and social realism; around then he banded with other young artists to espouse the New Realism movement, dedicated to highlighting class struggle and social injustice in Argentina. He worked typically in large scale and, perhaps in part due to a meeting with David Alfaro Siqueiros, made a number of murals as well. In 1959, he returned to making collages, using detritus and found objects. Berni was also known for making xylographs (or woodcuts) in high relief, incorporating collage elements—he called these xylo-collage-reliefs. In his late career, Berni’s style became increasingly photorealistic.